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Heidelberg blue my mind

3:20:00 PM

A city with something special, as German writer
Goethe said. It is said Heidelberg is the favorite destination in Germany,
especially thanks to its castle. Around 12M people go there every year
interested in its architecture, history and university lifestyle of the city,
with a wide range of activities and restaurants to try out.

The first time I visited this place I was actually
living in Belgium and my best friend came to see me for some days. My other
best friend was just settling in the German city and we decided to go visit her
by bus so she wouldn’t feel homesick during her first days there (plus we really
wanted to see her!). When we arrived we left everything at her house and met
her friends and flatmates, then went for a walk around the city. We did lots of
things in Heidelberg and walked a lot, but most importantly we had loads of
fun, and memories we still recall making fun of each other, blame it on the
booze and our poor German language skills (or in Aida’s case, even English was
a problem after many drinks –saltxix- or Spanish even…-te hecho- ok enough or
they will start picking on me).

Everything to see and do is quite close in this
city. The castle complex is gorgeous and probably the city most known
attraction. There are many ways to go up there but you can take the Philosopher’s
path and enjoy the wonderful views of the river and surrounding mountains.

Then if you go down again there are many
historic buildings to take pictures of, fountains and lovely shop windows to
stop by. While walking around the center you surely get the feeling you are
inside a German folk tale.

The image of the city is dominated by church
and tower houses, which are worth the visit. The gardens and squares are also
super inviting especially if you visit them in summer, we went to see a
football match projected on a big screen and the park was full of people,
lights all around and food stands.

Castle: its ruins rise majestically over
the old town, now attracting thousands of people every year it was once the
house of Prince Electors of the Palatinate.

Old Bridge: built in the Neckar in the 18thC
by Prince Karl Theodor, this is one of the last examples of classical bridge
building, linking the old town to the east end district of Neuenheim. The
Bridge Monkey is a bronze sculpture that was placed in the bridge, apart from
other statues that stand on the bridge with legends tied to them.

The Old
Town offers lots of places to have a hot drink or a nice meal, with a wide
range of international cuisines, home-style cooking or specialties for every
taste and budget. Some days we ate at home but other –especially at night- we
went around the center and sat on a beautiful terrace where we ordered delicious
pizzas, salad, and cocktails! The nightlife in Heidelberg is super alive since
it is a student city and evenings are owed by them around pubs, bistros and
bars.